PhotoDude.com

When has design without content ever had any lasting value? Slick packaging is nice, and makes something pleasant to use, but if that something is not useful in and of itself, all the bells and whistles in the world won't keep it relevant.

"HTML and CSS are plain english markup languages that millions of people have learned without being, or needing, a professional." Preach it. Everything I know I learned by stealing other people's code. Or by typing panic-stricken queries into Google. "Professional"? Yeah, and monkeys will...

RPD, I didn't say these are mutually exclusive states. You can have design and content, even if the content is the most important. Of course, just design for the sake of design won't bring repeat visitors, and many people who set up a web log as a place to pour their thoughts really don't care if it's anything but simple and legible. Design isn't a part what they want, or do. But you have to realize, for many people, design is just as much a form of expression as pounding out punditry. Creative expression. Some of us have been expressing ourselves creatively on our websites long before we had a clue what a weblog was .... they were a bonus that came later. In my case, I had a site for four years before I had a weblog. It was the weblog that had to merge with the previously existing creative expression, not vice versa. I'd love to see more people move away from the template approach towards more personal designs, as it tells you something of them, just as surely as their most recent post does.

I'm not sure you would like it if people did moved off templates. Most people don't have the eye for good design. It might tell you something about them, namely, they suck at design......

Martin, my Inner Pessimist would probably agree with you. My Inner Imposter would point out, "hey, your first design sucked too, but it eventually got better." And my Inner Asshole would add, "if that self proclaimed West Coast Wino Ken 'I hit view source from sites I liked and just sodomized the code to my satisfaction' Layne can do it, anybody can."

I just got tired of everyone saying "how come your blog looks just like John Ellis's, and OxBlog, and. . . ." Bjorn Staerk's "Sports Cut" template was a great piece of work, which is why so many people use it. But in moving the site I wound up switching to Movable Type, which meant abandoning a Blogger template, and Stacy Tabb designed me a nice one for next to no money. Heck, for a mere $100 you can be one of them. Er, us. Whatever. I'm surprised it got so much attention.

"I'm surprised it got so much attention." You have figured out your daily work has an impact, haven't you? From your recently revealed stats, you know about 20,000 people a day come by your "home." You think we wouldn't notice you've repainted? And when I say "we," I don't even mean me, I mean every high traffic web logger out there. Thus, the attention. Of course, after the opening ooohing and aaahing, you'll start hearing the small comments: "that couch in the foyer is 10 pixels from the wall. Sloppy." But the Professor has that covered as well: he's now got a web designer to blame! I think I just heard the sound of Stacey's rate going up....

Great! I thought I was the only one who disliked the new Instapundit. I think Glenn Reynold just jumped the shark.

So I see from your comments on your site. I find the reactions interesting. His content has, in fact, not changed one bit. From what I see, he's the same postin' fool he's always been. But the "package" has generated subjective perceptions, and now the book is being judged by its cover. Instead of a ratty old paperback that looks like a thousand others, it's now a nice hardcover book with its own unique dust sleeve. The content is the same. I guess some people see the world of weblogs as the "underground," with all the homegrown aspects that implies, but to me they are now part of the mainstream. And while you may view the sites of Reynolds, Sullivan, and Lileks as "slick" (although it should be noted, James does every pixel of design himself), the fact is they are three of the most read individuals on the web. There are indeed unique, and their sites should reflect that. To even the most ambitious, it must be recognized .... these are uniquely talented individuals, and the fact one of their sites might have looked like yours until recently is pure coincidence. It's not a sellout. But like when grunge bands learn to play their instruments properly, and improve production values to the point you can hear two separate guitars, the accusation is made: you've lost touch with your roots. Yes. It's called growth. It's a Good Thing.